Operation Make My Sister Feel Better

If there is one thing I'm good at, it's making people feel better.  And in my family there always seems to be someone in need of cheering up.  This time it was my sister.  So even though she hung up on me and told me not to come over, I did anyway.  

Commence operation Make My Sister Feel Better.  

The first thing to do when trying to cheer someone up is really think about the things that make them happy.  For my sister that often involves food or Blistex.  So I ran to the store first thing to pick up the ingredients for her favorite meal, steak and cheesy potatoes.  

For the steak you need the best, fillet Mignon which incidentally is hard to find here in Omaha.  I did indeed find some, but it was outrageously expensive and not of very good quality, but it did the trick.  While picking up some potatoes for the cheesy potatoes I passed by the flower section and noticed some uber cheep roses on sale.  What girl wouldn't want to come home and find roses on the kitchen table?  No brainer here, I picked them up and strolled on over to the check stand.

Now before I give you the recipe for this lovely steak marinade I will just say that I don't usually measure things I just pour this in, give it a dash of that, etc.  so bear with me as I try to be as precise as possible.

What you will need (guesstimated amounts):

Fillet Mignon (6oz steaks are a good size) butterflied

1-2 large bottles (16-24oz?) Kikiman's Teriyaki Marinade

2-3 Tbsp Season Salt

1-2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1-2 Tbsp Onion Powder

2 Tbsp Peppercorns

2-3 Tbsp Honey (optional)

Step 1:  Remove the fat from your meat (keep in mind that a good marbling of the meat is what you want and is not to be cut off as fat), butterfly, and lightly score it to allow for better absorption of the marinade.

Step 2:  Prepare the marinade.  I usually use a marinader, but you could just as easily put the mix into a Ziploc bag.  Pour in enough of the Teriyaki Marinade to cover the steaks, I usually end up using one to two large bottles for four steaks.  Then add your seasonings.  Here is where I just pour away.  You want a good amount of seasoning but don't go overboard.  Throw in a good amount of peppercorns for spice and if you like your marinade sweet add a good amount of honey or brown sugar.  I use honey, probably about two to three tablespoons.

Step 3:  Put the meat into the marinade and marinate for at least 24hours, flipping the meat halfway through.  Note that if you like just a light flavor I would marinate for less time.  The stronger you want the flavor, the longer you would leave it in the marinade.

Step 4:  Pull the meat out of the marinade and grill for best flavor, or pan fry if need be.  Sister likes hers pan fried so that is what we did.  We fried it in some of the marinade for more flavor.

Step 5:  You can also make up some extra marinade to dip your steak if you like extra flavor.  Simply pour some of your marinade into a small saucepan and simmer until slightly thickened.  Serve alongside your meat.

We usually eat our steak with some cheesy potatoes, a family recipe that I will not be giving out today anyway, but you can serve it with any kind of vegetable or potato.  Have fun hope you enjoy the recipe.  Wish me luck in future operations.